Posted on 01/23/2007 7:35:25 PM PST by don'tspeak4me
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Flight attendants often deal with obnoxious passengers who won't listen to instructions by kicking them off the plane. But a Massachusetts couple think AirTran Airways went overboard by treating their crying 3-year-old daughter in much the same way.
Julie and Gerry Kulesza and daughter Elly were removed from the flight when the girl refused to take her seat before takeoff, airline officials said Tuesday. But her parents said they just needed a little more time to calm her down.
The Kuleszas planned to fly home to Boston on Jan. 14 from Fort Myers after a four-day visit with the girl's paternal grandparents. She was removed because "she was climbing under the seat and hitting the parents and wouldn't get in her seat" during boarding, AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver said.
AirTran officials say they were only following Federal Aviation Administration rules that children age 2 and above must have their own seat and be wearing a seatbelt upon takeoff.
"The flight was already delayed 15 minutes and in fairness to the other 112 passengers on the plane, the crew made an operational decision to remove the family," Graham-Weaver said.
But Julie Kulesza said: "We weren't giving an opportunity to hold her, console her or anything."
"Elly was sitting in front of our seat crying," she said in a phone interview. "The attendant motioned to a seat and asked if we purchased it for her."
They had paid for the seat. Gerry Kulesza said another attendant then approached the family and told him: "You need to get her in control and in her seat."
The couple told the attendants they were trying. Julie Kulesza said she asked the attendants if Elly could sit on her lap, but they said no.
The family flew home the next day.
The Orlando-based carrier reimbursed the family $595.80, the cost of the three tickets, and offered them three roundtrip tickets anywhere the airline flies, Graham-Weaver said.
But that's too little, too late for the Kuleszas. The father said they would never fly AirTran again.
With all due respect to the family first of all
With flight attendant sit your a** down you better after Sept 11 you better sit your brat down
The flight was delayed for 15 mins. What a crock. No wonder the kid behaved like that.
I remember back in the day...my momma would have opened an industrial-sized can of whoop ass on me if I even hinted at acting this way.
Sounds to me as if they should have toss the parents off the flight and told them never to return.
Could be a good reason to fly AirTran. And a note to the parents: if you cannot control a child at that age, you are completely out of luck when the kid turns 13. And yes, we have raised two children.
Could you translate that, please?
I'm a parent of five kids, three of them still of tantrum age. My guess is, they deserved it.
In the old days, you'd be so embarrassed you couldn't control your kids, you'd just quietly go away...not anymore.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Typical MA liberal permissive parents... "honey, you're making daddy sad when you kick the nice flight attendant, please don't make daddy sad, ok honey? if you don't stop pouring water on the people in front of you, you might get a time out, ok? this is your 1st warning and you only have seven left..."
Duct tape works wonders. (Never had to use any on my kids but mine were raised proper.)
Seems appropriate to me. This wreaks of parents who are afraid to discipline their child.
YEAAAH.
She wasn't kicked off for a mere "tantrum", but because she wouldn't take her seat.
Good for the airline.
I think the parents are idiots.
They bought a seat for their daughter. It appears they had two seats together and one separate. Why did they put their daughter in the separate seat. Why wasn't the daughter with one parent and the other parent in the single seat.
Did I read it wrong?
These parents are pathetic! I'd be ashamed if my child acted like that. ASHAMED AND HUMILIATED.
Good. I don't ever have to worry about putting up with the little brat.
One more good reason for keeping the nanny government from being able to tell us that we can't spank our kids.
all of his are like that...figure his wording and it's fun to read...jaw drop grinning occures too.
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